4 With such a broad basis of popular support, it
was not surprising that the Assembly of the province voted
approval of the proceedings of Congress on January 24.
was not surprising that the Assembly of the province voted
approval of the proceedings of Congress on January 24.
Arthur Schlesinger - Colonial Merchants and the American Revolution
ii, p.
372.
4 Professor Becker's analysis of the Sixty is as follows: 29 members
of the original Fifty-One found places on the Sixty, and of these 21
gave active or passive support to the War for Independence. Of the
rejected members of the F1fty-One, 17 of the 22 became loyalists or
neutrals with loyalist sympathies. The 31 members of the Sixty who
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? 45?
THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
With such zealots in the saddle as Sears and McDougall,
no merchant of insight could longer hope that the enforce-
ment of the Association would be merely nominal. "Anti-
Tyrannicus" might well lament after four months of the
rule of the Sixty: "While the late Committee of Fifty-One
acted as a Committee of Correspondence for this City, the
generality of its inhabitants, particularly the most sensible
and judicious part of them, were happy in reposing the
trust with so respectable a body, composed as it was of the
principal citizens; but when the present Committee was
formed out of the ruins, as I may say, of the old Commit-
tee, was there a cool considerate man among us, who did
not forbodeevil? " 1
Early in November the " Fifty-One" had sent a circular
letter to the rural counties recommending the appointment
of committees of inspection pursuant to the Association. '
Enthusiastic response could hardly be expected in view of
the lassitude exhibited at the time of the election of dele-
gates to Congress; and there was even a possibility that the
moderate elements would become active and defeat the
plans of aggressive radical minorities. Actually the results
were much the same as on the earlier occasion. Only three
of the thirteen rural counties gave the Association a favor-
able reception at this early time--Suffolk, comprising cen-
tral and eastern Long Island; and on the mainland, the
adjoining counties of Ulster and Albany. The most radical
action was taken by Suffolk County. On November 15, the
county committee of correspondence voted a full approval
were not members of the Fifty-One included about ten who became
active radicals and not more than five or six loyalists. N. Y. Parties,
1760-1776, pp. 167-168.
1 N. Y. Gasetteer, Mch. 23, 1775.
14 Am. Arch. , vol. i, p. 329. Professor Becker has assembled all the
facts in the discussion that follows in op. cit. , pp. 160-173, 187.
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? RATIFICATION OF THE ASSOCIATION 451
of the Association and recommended it to the several towns
to see that its provisions were executed. Within two months
most of the towns and districts of the county had taken
favorable action. 1 Next to Suffolk, the Association gained
widest support in Ulster County, where a joint meeting of
the freeholders of five towns recommended the appointment
of committees on January 6, 1775. In the subsequent
months such action was taken by five or more towns. 2 In
Albany County, the county committee of correspondence
endorsed the Association, with some misgivings, on Decem-
ber 10, 1774, and effected a reorganization of the commit-
tee, by which the three city wards and the rural precincts
were given representation. The action of endorsement met
with no public expostulation, except from a meeting in
King's district under the leadership of five of the king's
justices.
The contest over the acceptance of the Association was
sharp in Queens and Tryon Counties and the outcome was
a partial and barren victory for the radicals. Committees
of inspection were appointed in the former county at
Jamaica and Newtown, but the action was quickly repu-
diated by numbers of Inhabitants. At Flushing in the same
county, it would appear that about one-seventh of the free-
holders, having come together at a funeral, appointed the
committee. At Oyster Bay, a meeting called for that par-
ticular purpose adjourned without action. In Tryon County
the radicals succeeded in appointing committees in only
four districts. * In the eight remaining counties the Asso-
ciation was either disowned, ignored, or combated by
1 Among them were Huntingdon, Smithtown, Islip and Southhaven.
Because of opposition, Brookhaven did not appoint a committee of
inspection until June 8, 1775.
1 Shawangunk, Hanover, Wallkill, New Windsor and Kingston.
* Palatine, Canajoharie, German Flatts and Mohawk.
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? 452
THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
means of loyalist associations which asserted the "un-
doubted right to liberty in eating, drinking, buying, sell-
ing" etc. 1
(The rather general disapprobation which the Association
met outside of the city and county of New York made
some form of provincial endorsement extremely importanij
and a determined effort was put forth to secure the sanction
of the Assembly. This Assembly, which came together on
January 10, 1775, had been in existence since 1769; and
although it had passed a vote in the earlier year approving
the non-importation regulations which the merchants them-
selves had established, the body was not likely to prove re-
sponsive to the altered condition of public affairs in 1775. 2
Nevertheless the game was sufficiently uncertain to warrant
a trial by the radicals. 8 On January 26 an initial attempt
was made to get the Assembly to pass judgment on the
Continental Congress, but through a resort to the previous
question the matter was stopped by a vote of eleven to ten.
The loyalist speakers pointed out that Congress was seek-
ing to wield powers properly belonging to a legislature,
and charged openly that the New York delegates in Con-
gress had opposed the proceedings. 4 In the subsequent
1 Quoted from the Dutchess County Association; N. Y. Gasetteer,
Feb. 9, 1775. A committee, appointed at White Plains in Westchester
County, was repudiated by 45 freeholders.
1 Mass. Spy, Feb. 16, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. 1, p. 1191.
1 Colden himself entertained doubts as to the course that the Assembly-
would take. Letter Books, vol. ii, p. 378.
44 Am. Arch. , vol. i, pp. 1189-1191, 1286-1287; Conn. Hist. Soc. Colls. ,
voL ii, pp. 193-194; Brush's speech in N. Y. Gasetteer, Mch. 2, 1775.
"Worthy old Silver Locks," when he learned of the vote of the As-
sembly, "cried out--(Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in
peace. " A moderate's letter in Mass. Gas. & Post-Boy, Feb. 6, I77S-
It is to be noted that Colden was in charge of the New York govern-
ment at the three most trying times during the revolutionary move-
ment: the Stamp Act, the tea episode, and the period of the First
Continental Congress.
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? RATIFICATION OF THE ASSOCIATION
453
four weeks, as tardy members made their appearance, three
more attempts were made to commit the Assembly in the
matter, but all to no purpose. 1 These^efeats convinced the
radicals that they could hope for nothing from the Assem-
bly, and they proceeded to do all in their power to undo the
damage which the course of the Assembly had wrought the
causeQ
One spirited article, circulated in the newspapers, anal-
yzed the personnel of the New York government, and pur-
ported to show that most of the members of the Council
and Assembly either themselves had access to the public
crib through lucrative contracts or well-paid positions, or
else were related to those who did. 2 A report, originating
in London, was given publicity, to the effect that several
members of the majority in the Assembly had received
bribes of f 1000 for their votes, and that large land grants,
pensions and high offices were to be rewards for the leaders
of the majority. * It is possible that the radicals would
now have followed the example of Massachusetts. New
Hampshire and other provinces and sought an endorsement
of the Association at the hands of a provincial convention. 4
But much valuable time had been lost in the futile efforts
with the Assembly; and, furthermore, means had been
found of rendering the Association effectual without such
1 On Feb. 17, a motion to thank the New York delegates for their
services was lost, 15 to 9. On Feb. 21, a motion to thank the mer-
chants and inhabitants of the province for their adherence to the
Association was defeated, 15 to 10. On Feb. 23, a motion to appoint
delegates to the next Continental Congress was rejected, 17 to 9.
4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, pp. 1289-1297.
'Pa. Journ. , Feb. 22, 1775; also Conn. Cour. , Apr. 10.
1 The identity of the members was but thinly disguised in most in-
stances. Pa. Journ. , May 17, 1775.
4 A letter from the South Carolina General Committee, dated Men. 1,
1775, urged this course on New York. N. Y. Jount. , Apr. 6, 1775; also
4 Am. Arch. , vol. ii, pp. 1-3.
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? 454
THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
sanction. 1 When, therefore, the radicals reached the de-
cision of calling a provincial convention, it was only with a
view to the election of delegates to the impending Second
Continental Congress.
Fortunately for the administration of the Association,
the negative attitude of the Assembly and the absence of
committees of inspection in most of the rural parts were
iBatteri of nr> . pssential itnportanrf jSfpw VTM-1 rfry TMog
the entrppot of commerce for the entire province, as well as
for portions of Connecticut and New Jersey; and as long
as this portal was well guarded, no serious violations of the
Association could occur. The Committee of Sixty, sta-
tioned there, was clearly of radical complexion; and its
successor, the Committee of One Hundred, elected upon the
receipt of the news of Lexington and Concord, was even
more largely so. On its roll were many members of the
old Sixty; and among the new members were such unmiti-
gated radicals as John Morin Scott, John Lamb, and Daniel
Dunscomb, long chairman of the Committee of Mechanics. "
1 Colden wrote to Dartmouth on May 3, 1775 that, from the time the
Assembly deviated from the general association of the colonies, "a
Design was evidently form'd in the other Colonies to drive the People
Here from acquiescing in the Measures of the Assembly, & to force
them into the General Plan of Association & Resistance. This Design
was heartily seconded by many among ourselves. Every species of
public and private Resentment was threatened to terrify the Inhabi-
tants of this Province if they continued Disunited from the others.
The certainty of looseing all the Debts due from the other Colonies,
which are very considerable, and every other Argument of private
Interest that could Influence the Merchants, or any one, was indus-
triously circulated. " Letter Books, vol. ii, p. 401.
1 After making a careful analysis of the new committee and its most
active members, Professor Becker concludes: "it is clear that the com-
mittee of One Hundred . . . was largely dominated by those who had
directed d1e Sixty, assisted by newly elected radicals; whatever it rep-
resented ostensibly, it was in fact the organ of that conservative-
radical combination which was destined to inaugurate the revolution
and achieve independence. " Op. cit. , pp. 197-199.
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? RATIFICATION OF THE ASSOCIATION
455
Unless some nearby harbors in -Npw Jprspy should furnish
opportunity for evasion, the province was pretty effectually
sealed. The people of Jersey, however, as we shall see,
were jffinjfply rnTpfnittpH tr> tfa^-Contingntal Association.
The movement for ratifying the Association in New
Jersey got under way early in December, 1774, when the
three precincts of Essex County observed the directions of
Article xi and appointed committees of observation. 1 The
movement spread rapidly, and the example of Essex County
in establishing committees of inspection in the local sub-
divisions was widely copied. By February 1, 1775. com-
mittees of observation and inspection had been appointed in
eight of the thirteen counties;2 and at least two other coun-
ties acted shortly after. 8 Every populous county, with the
possible exception of Salem, was now organized for the
enforcement of the Association. No public opposition of
any importance appeared against the establishment of com-
mittees.
4 With such a broad basis of popular support, it
was not surprising that the Assembly of the province voted
approval of the proceedings of Congress on January 24.
1775-5
1 Elizabeth, Newark and Acquackanonck. 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i. 1009-
1010, 1012-1013, 1028; N. Y. Gas. , Dec. 26, 1774.
* Other than Essex, these counties were in chronological order: Mon-
mouth, Gloucester, Somerset, Cumberland, Middlesex, Hunterdon, and
Morris. The italicization indicates the counties in which township
committees of inspection were organized. 4 Am. Arch. , vol. ii, p. 35;
Pa. Gas. , Dec. 21, 1774; N. Y. Gas. , Dec. 26; Pa. Packet, Jan. 19, I77S;
4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, pp. 1083-1084, 1163-1164, 1106.
* Burlington and Bergen; ibid. , vol. i, pp. 1235-1236; vol. ii, p. 579.
4 For two instances, however, vide ibid. , vol. i. p. 1165: vol. ii, pp.
130-131-
* An appearance of unanimity was given to this vote through the
skilful manipulation of "the Junto at Elizabeth Town," i. e. , William
Livingston, John DeHart and Ettas Boudinot. / N. J. Arch. , vol. x,
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? 456 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1778
The fact that Philadelphia had been the scene of the
transactions of the Continental Congress gave decided im-
petus to the movement for ratification of the Association
throughout Pennsylvania. In the city the chief source of
opposition was the group of \ygftlthy Quaker merchants,
who controlled the policy of the sect to which they be-
longed. Galloway, outwitted in his first attempt to play
politics on a continental scale, was seeking balm for his
wounded sensibilities in the company of congenial spirits
in the city and in New York; and he did not appear in
public denunciation of Congress until after the radicals had
firmly established their organization in Pennsylvania.
The existing Committee of Forty-Three at Philadelphia,
representing city and county, had never been entirely satis-
factory to the ultra-radicals; it had been accepted by them
simply as the best committee that could be obtained under
the circumstances then prevailing. Even before the Conti-
nental Congress had begun its sessions, appeals had ap-
peared in the press, emanating avowedly from the laboring
class, demanding the appointment of a new committee. 1
As the Continental Association pointed to the selection of
a new committee, the radicals at once made known their
opinion that separate committees should be chosen for the
city and for the county. Their purpose evidently was to
preclude the possibility of the city moderates dominating
the action of the county, as they had done to a certain de-
pp. 537, 575-577- The Quaker members of the Assembly made an
exception to "such parts [of the proceedings of Congress] as seem
to wear an appearance, or may have a tendency to force (if any such
there be) as inconsistent with their religious principles. " 4 Am. Arch. ,
vok i, p. 1124. It would appear, however, that this saving clause was
removed on Jan. 25. Vide ibid. , vol. i, p. 1287; 1 N. J. Arch. , vol.
x, p. 546.
1 "An Artisan" in Pa. Gos. . Aug. 31, 1774; "A Mechanic" in Pa.
Packet, Sept. 5.
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? RATIFICATION OF THE ASSOCIATION
457
gree in the election of the Forty-Three; but they tactfully
based their objections on the ground of convenience and
greater effectiveness of action. 1 They also demanded, in
curious contrast to their New York brethren, that the elec-
tion be held by ballot, for the reason, it would appear, that
the voters could thus be best protected from the "undue
influence" and "electioneering attempts" of the citizens
of wealth and position. 2
The Forty-Three had already sent out a call for a public
meeting on Saturday, November 12, 1774, to elect a joint
committee for city and county. 8 On Monday of that week,
a mass meeting, summoned without authority of the Forty-
Three, came together at the state house, and resolved by
unanimous vote that the election should be held in the sev-
eral wards by ballot of those who could vote for represen-
tatives in the Assembly, and that the city and its suburbs
should elect a committee of sixty separate from the county. 4
The plan adopted by this meeting, unauthorized though it
was, prevailed. Separate tickets of names for membership
in the city committee were made out by the two parties,
and these were printed and distributed for electioneering
purposes. On election day the list of sixty names submitted
by the radicals won by a great majority. 6 At the particular
request of the freeholders of two suburban districts, addi-
1 Pa. Gas. , Nov. 2, 1774; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, pp. 956-957.
1" Cassandra," a radical, in Pa. Gas. , Mcl1. 20, 1776.
* Ibid. , Nov. 2, 1774; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, p. 956.
4 Ibid. , vol. i, pp. 965-967; also Pa. Gas. , Nov. 9, 1774.
* It is evident that only a small minority of all the citizens partici-
pated in the voting. 517 votes in all were cast in the city and the
Northern Liberties; and of these, 499 were for the radical ticket, with
very few exceptions to any one name. "Tiberius" in Pa. Ledger,
Mch. 16, 1776. Not one-sixth of the people voted, according to a
Philadelphia writer in the N. Y. Gasetteer, Feb. 23,
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? 458 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763. 1776
tional members were included in the committee, making the
total number sixty-six. 1
The radical character of the Sixty-Six is indicated by
the fact that, in the election of the two committees that in
turn succeeded to the functions of this committee, few alter-
ations were made in the personnel. The Sixty-Six in-
cluded only seventeen members of the old Forty-Three;
and these were, for the most part, men of the more radical
stamp, like Dickinson. Thomas Mifflin, Joseph Reed and
Charles Thomson. Thomas Wharton and the Reverend
Dr. Smith were dropped permanently from committee rolls.
Of the new men on the Sixty-Six, William Bradford, editor
of the radical Pennsylvania Journal, was the best known.
The others were, for the greater part, small tradesmen,
mechanics, and nobodies who had been active in popular
demonstrations in earlier years. It is not necessary to
accept literally the scornful comment of a contemporary
that "there are many of this Committee who could not
get credit for 2Os. ;" and it would be difficult, if not impos-
sible, to verify his further statement that one of the Sixty-
Six, "an avowed Republican, had lately met with some dis-
appointments . . . ; another had acquired his fortune partly
by an illicit trade last war, and partly by taking advantage
< >f a Resolve of the people here, not to deal with the Rhcde-
Islanders. after they had broke through the Non-Importa-
tion Agreement, by supplying them with Goods, when no
other Merchant would do it; another was an illiterate Mer-
chant; another too insignificant to notice, &c. " a
The counties of the province quickly emulated the ex-
1 The names of the original sixty and of the four members from
Southwark are in Pa. Gas. , Nov. 16, 1774; the names of the two from
Kensington are in ibid. , Nov. 23. 'Lincoln states that the committee
was composed of sixty-seven. Rev'y Movement in Pa. , p. 185.
1 -V. Y. Goeetteer, Feb. 23, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, p. 1232.
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? RATIFICATION OF THE ASSOCIATION 459
ample of Philadelphia in preparing for the enforcement of
the Association. In Philadelphia County, committees were
first selected for each township; and at a meeting of these
committees on November 26 a general committee of forty
was named. 1 By the middle of February seven other
counties had chosen committees of inspection; 2 and the
committee of correspondence of another county had as-
sumed the function of executing the Association. 8 There
is no record of action in the case of the two sparsely settled
frontier counties of Northumberland and Westmoreland.
Ratification o^ the ^^tiruf1tal A^sr)fiation_was jasily
carried in r,he Pennsylvania Assemblv. That body had
held its first session while the Continental Congress was
still in session; and its first act had been to elect a successor
to Joseph Galloway, who had been speaker for so many
years. The second session began on December 5, and on
the tenth the proceedings of Congress were approved by a
unanimous vote. 4 Three days later. Galloway made his
first appearance in this Assembly. During the remainder
of the session and in the February session he proceeded
quietly and indefatigably to work up sentiment among the
members in opposition to the measures of Congress, and
he gained an increasingly large following. But he was
laboring against heavy odds; and the excitement, produced
by the acceleration of public events, contributed in defeat-
1 This committee contained three members of the old Committee of
Forty-Three. Pa. Gas. , Nov. 16, 30, 1774.
4 Professor Becker's analysis of the Sixty is as follows: 29 members
of the original Fifty-One found places on the Sixty, and of these 21
gave active or passive support to the War for Independence. Of the
rejected members of the F1fty-One, 17 of the 22 became loyalists or
neutrals with loyalist sympathies. The 31 members of the Sixty who
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? 45?
THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
With such zealots in the saddle as Sears and McDougall,
no merchant of insight could longer hope that the enforce-
ment of the Association would be merely nominal. "Anti-
Tyrannicus" might well lament after four months of the
rule of the Sixty: "While the late Committee of Fifty-One
acted as a Committee of Correspondence for this City, the
generality of its inhabitants, particularly the most sensible
and judicious part of them, were happy in reposing the
trust with so respectable a body, composed as it was of the
principal citizens; but when the present Committee was
formed out of the ruins, as I may say, of the old Commit-
tee, was there a cool considerate man among us, who did
not forbodeevil? " 1
Early in November the " Fifty-One" had sent a circular
letter to the rural counties recommending the appointment
of committees of inspection pursuant to the Association. '
Enthusiastic response could hardly be expected in view of
the lassitude exhibited at the time of the election of dele-
gates to Congress; and there was even a possibility that the
moderate elements would become active and defeat the
plans of aggressive radical minorities. Actually the results
were much the same as on the earlier occasion. Only three
of the thirteen rural counties gave the Association a favor-
able reception at this early time--Suffolk, comprising cen-
tral and eastern Long Island; and on the mainland, the
adjoining counties of Ulster and Albany. The most radical
action was taken by Suffolk County. On November 15, the
county committee of correspondence voted a full approval
were not members of the Fifty-One included about ten who became
active radicals and not more than five or six loyalists. N. Y. Parties,
1760-1776, pp. 167-168.
1 N. Y. Gasetteer, Mch. 23, 1775.
14 Am. Arch. , vol. i, p. 329. Professor Becker has assembled all the
facts in the discussion that follows in op. cit. , pp. 160-173, 187.
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? RATIFICATION OF THE ASSOCIATION 451
of the Association and recommended it to the several towns
to see that its provisions were executed. Within two months
most of the towns and districts of the county had taken
favorable action. 1 Next to Suffolk, the Association gained
widest support in Ulster County, where a joint meeting of
the freeholders of five towns recommended the appointment
of committees on January 6, 1775. In the subsequent
months such action was taken by five or more towns. 2 In
Albany County, the county committee of correspondence
endorsed the Association, with some misgivings, on Decem-
ber 10, 1774, and effected a reorganization of the commit-
tee, by which the three city wards and the rural precincts
were given representation. The action of endorsement met
with no public expostulation, except from a meeting in
King's district under the leadership of five of the king's
justices.
The contest over the acceptance of the Association was
sharp in Queens and Tryon Counties and the outcome was
a partial and barren victory for the radicals. Committees
of inspection were appointed in the former county at
Jamaica and Newtown, but the action was quickly repu-
diated by numbers of Inhabitants. At Flushing in the same
county, it would appear that about one-seventh of the free-
holders, having come together at a funeral, appointed the
committee. At Oyster Bay, a meeting called for that par-
ticular purpose adjourned without action. In Tryon County
the radicals succeeded in appointing committees in only
four districts. * In the eight remaining counties the Asso-
ciation was either disowned, ignored, or combated by
1 Among them were Huntingdon, Smithtown, Islip and Southhaven.
Because of opposition, Brookhaven did not appoint a committee of
inspection until June 8, 1775.
1 Shawangunk, Hanover, Wallkill, New Windsor and Kingston.
* Palatine, Canajoharie, German Flatts and Mohawk.
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? 452
THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
means of loyalist associations which asserted the "un-
doubted right to liberty in eating, drinking, buying, sell-
ing" etc. 1
(The rather general disapprobation which the Association
met outside of the city and county of New York made
some form of provincial endorsement extremely importanij
and a determined effort was put forth to secure the sanction
of the Assembly. This Assembly, which came together on
January 10, 1775, had been in existence since 1769; and
although it had passed a vote in the earlier year approving
the non-importation regulations which the merchants them-
selves had established, the body was not likely to prove re-
sponsive to the altered condition of public affairs in 1775. 2
Nevertheless the game was sufficiently uncertain to warrant
a trial by the radicals. 8 On January 26 an initial attempt
was made to get the Assembly to pass judgment on the
Continental Congress, but through a resort to the previous
question the matter was stopped by a vote of eleven to ten.
The loyalist speakers pointed out that Congress was seek-
ing to wield powers properly belonging to a legislature,
and charged openly that the New York delegates in Con-
gress had opposed the proceedings. 4 In the subsequent
1 Quoted from the Dutchess County Association; N. Y. Gasetteer,
Feb. 9, 1775. A committee, appointed at White Plains in Westchester
County, was repudiated by 45 freeholders.
1 Mass. Spy, Feb. 16, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. 1, p. 1191.
1 Colden himself entertained doubts as to the course that the Assembly-
would take. Letter Books, vol. ii, p. 378.
44 Am. Arch. , vol. i, pp. 1189-1191, 1286-1287; Conn. Hist. Soc. Colls. ,
voL ii, pp. 193-194; Brush's speech in N. Y. Gasetteer, Mch. 2, 1775.
"Worthy old Silver Locks," when he learned of the vote of the As-
sembly, "cried out--(Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in
peace. " A moderate's letter in Mass. Gas. & Post-Boy, Feb. 6, I77S-
It is to be noted that Colden was in charge of the New York govern-
ment at the three most trying times during the revolutionary move-
ment: the Stamp Act, the tea episode, and the period of the First
Continental Congress.
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? RATIFICATION OF THE ASSOCIATION
453
four weeks, as tardy members made their appearance, three
more attempts were made to commit the Assembly in the
matter, but all to no purpose. 1 These^efeats convinced the
radicals that they could hope for nothing from the Assem-
bly, and they proceeded to do all in their power to undo the
damage which the course of the Assembly had wrought the
causeQ
One spirited article, circulated in the newspapers, anal-
yzed the personnel of the New York government, and pur-
ported to show that most of the members of the Council
and Assembly either themselves had access to the public
crib through lucrative contracts or well-paid positions, or
else were related to those who did. 2 A report, originating
in London, was given publicity, to the effect that several
members of the majority in the Assembly had received
bribes of f 1000 for their votes, and that large land grants,
pensions and high offices were to be rewards for the leaders
of the majority. * It is possible that the radicals would
now have followed the example of Massachusetts. New
Hampshire and other provinces and sought an endorsement
of the Association at the hands of a provincial convention. 4
But much valuable time had been lost in the futile efforts
with the Assembly; and, furthermore, means had been
found of rendering the Association effectual without such
1 On Feb. 17, a motion to thank the New York delegates for their
services was lost, 15 to 9. On Feb. 21, a motion to thank the mer-
chants and inhabitants of the province for their adherence to the
Association was defeated, 15 to 10. On Feb. 23, a motion to appoint
delegates to the next Continental Congress was rejected, 17 to 9.
4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, pp. 1289-1297.
'Pa. Journ. , Feb. 22, 1775; also Conn. Cour. , Apr. 10.
1 The identity of the members was but thinly disguised in most in-
stances. Pa. Journ. , May 17, 1775.
4 A letter from the South Carolina General Committee, dated Men. 1,
1775, urged this course on New York. N. Y. Jount. , Apr. 6, 1775; also
4 Am. Arch. , vol. ii, pp. 1-3.
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? 454
THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1776
sanction. 1 When, therefore, the radicals reached the de-
cision of calling a provincial convention, it was only with a
view to the election of delegates to the impending Second
Continental Congress.
Fortunately for the administration of the Association,
the negative attitude of the Assembly and the absence of
committees of inspection in most of the rural parts were
iBatteri of nr> . pssential itnportanrf jSfpw VTM-1 rfry TMog
the entrppot of commerce for the entire province, as well as
for portions of Connecticut and New Jersey; and as long
as this portal was well guarded, no serious violations of the
Association could occur. The Committee of Sixty, sta-
tioned there, was clearly of radical complexion; and its
successor, the Committee of One Hundred, elected upon the
receipt of the news of Lexington and Concord, was even
more largely so. On its roll were many members of the
old Sixty; and among the new members were such unmiti-
gated radicals as John Morin Scott, John Lamb, and Daniel
Dunscomb, long chairman of the Committee of Mechanics. "
1 Colden wrote to Dartmouth on May 3, 1775 that, from the time the
Assembly deviated from the general association of the colonies, "a
Design was evidently form'd in the other Colonies to drive the People
Here from acquiescing in the Measures of the Assembly, & to force
them into the General Plan of Association & Resistance. This Design
was heartily seconded by many among ourselves. Every species of
public and private Resentment was threatened to terrify the Inhabi-
tants of this Province if they continued Disunited from the others.
The certainty of looseing all the Debts due from the other Colonies,
which are very considerable, and every other Argument of private
Interest that could Influence the Merchants, or any one, was indus-
triously circulated. " Letter Books, vol. ii, p. 401.
1 After making a careful analysis of the new committee and its most
active members, Professor Becker concludes: "it is clear that the com-
mittee of One Hundred . . . was largely dominated by those who had
directed d1e Sixty, assisted by newly elected radicals; whatever it rep-
resented ostensibly, it was in fact the organ of that conservative-
radical combination which was destined to inaugurate the revolution
and achieve independence. " Op. cit. , pp. 197-199.
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? RATIFICATION OF THE ASSOCIATION
455
Unless some nearby harbors in -Npw Jprspy should furnish
opportunity for evasion, the province was pretty effectually
sealed. The people of Jersey, however, as we shall see,
were jffinjfply rnTpfnittpH tr> tfa^-Contingntal Association.
The movement for ratifying the Association in New
Jersey got under way early in December, 1774, when the
three precincts of Essex County observed the directions of
Article xi and appointed committees of observation. 1 The
movement spread rapidly, and the example of Essex County
in establishing committees of inspection in the local sub-
divisions was widely copied. By February 1, 1775. com-
mittees of observation and inspection had been appointed in
eight of the thirteen counties;2 and at least two other coun-
ties acted shortly after. 8 Every populous county, with the
possible exception of Salem, was now organized for the
enforcement of the Association. No public opposition of
any importance appeared against the establishment of com-
mittees.
4 With such a broad basis of popular support, it
was not surprising that the Assembly of the province voted
approval of the proceedings of Congress on January 24.
1775-5
1 Elizabeth, Newark and Acquackanonck. 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i. 1009-
1010, 1012-1013, 1028; N. Y. Gas. , Dec. 26, 1774.
* Other than Essex, these counties were in chronological order: Mon-
mouth, Gloucester, Somerset, Cumberland, Middlesex, Hunterdon, and
Morris. The italicization indicates the counties in which township
committees of inspection were organized. 4 Am. Arch. , vol. ii, p. 35;
Pa. Gas. , Dec. 21, 1774; N. Y. Gas. , Dec. 26; Pa. Packet, Jan. 19, I77S;
4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, pp. 1083-1084, 1163-1164, 1106.
* Burlington and Bergen; ibid. , vol. i, pp. 1235-1236; vol. ii, p. 579.
4 For two instances, however, vide ibid. , vol. i. p. 1165: vol. ii, pp.
130-131-
* An appearance of unanimity was given to this vote through the
skilful manipulation of "the Junto at Elizabeth Town," i. e. , William
Livingston, John DeHart and Ettas Boudinot. / N. J. Arch. , vol. x,
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? 456 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763-1778
The fact that Philadelphia had been the scene of the
transactions of the Continental Congress gave decided im-
petus to the movement for ratification of the Association
throughout Pennsylvania. In the city the chief source of
opposition was the group of \ygftlthy Quaker merchants,
who controlled the policy of the sect to which they be-
longed. Galloway, outwitted in his first attempt to play
politics on a continental scale, was seeking balm for his
wounded sensibilities in the company of congenial spirits
in the city and in New York; and he did not appear in
public denunciation of Congress until after the radicals had
firmly established their organization in Pennsylvania.
The existing Committee of Forty-Three at Philadelphia,
representing city and county, had never been entirely satis-
factory to the ultra-radicals; it had been accepted by them
simply as the best committee that could be obtained under
the circumstances then prevailing. Even before the Conti-
nental Congress had begun its sessions, appeals had ap-
peared in the press, emanating avowedly from the laboring
class, demanding the appointment of a new committee. 1
As the Continental Association pointed to the selection of
a new committee, the radicals at once made known their
opinion that separate committees should be chosen for the
city and for the county. Their purpose evidently was to
preclude the possibility of the city moderates dominating
the action of the county, as they had done to a certain de-
pp. 537, 575-577- The Quaker members of the Assembly made an
exception to "such parts [of the proceedings of Congress] as seem
to wear an appearance, or may have a tendency to force (if any such
there be) as inconsistent with their religious principles. " 4 Am. Arch. ,
vok i, p. 1124. It would appear, however, that this saving clause was
removed on Jan. 25. Vide ibid. , vol. i, p. 1287; 1 N. J. Arch. , vol.
x, p. 546.
1 "An Artisan" in Pa. Gos. . Aug. 31, 1774; "A Mechanic" in Pa.
Packet, Sept. 5.
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? RATIFICATION OF THE ASSOCIATION
457
gree in the election of the Forty-Three; but they tactfully
based their objections on the ground of convenience and
greater effectiveness of action. 1 They also demanded, in
curious contrast to their New York brethren, that the elec-
tion be held by ballot, for the reason, it would appear, that
the voters could thus be best protected from the "undue
influence" and "electioneering attempts" of the citizens
of wealth and position. 2
The Forty-Three had already sent out a call for a public
meeting on Saturday, November 12, 1774, to elect a joint
committee for city and county. 8 On Monday of that week,
a mass meeting, summoned without authority of the Forty-
Three, came together at the state house, and resolved by
unanimous vote that the election should be held in the sev-
eral wards by ballot of those who could vote for represen-
tatives in the Assembly, and that the city and its suburbs
should elect a committee of sixty separate from the county. 4
The plan adopted by this meeting, unauthorized though it
was, prevailed. Separate tickets of names for membership
in the city committee were made out by the two parties,
and these were printed and distributed for electioneering
purposes. On election day the list of sixty names submitted
by the radicals won by a great majority. 6 At the particular
request of the freeholders of two suburban districts, addi-
1 Pa. Gas. , Nov. 2, 1774; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, pp. 956-957.
1" Cassandra," a radical, in Pa. Gas. , Mcl1. 20, 1776.
* Ibid. , Nov. 2, 1774; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, p. 956.
4 Ibid. , vol. i, pp. 965-967; also Pa. Gas. , Nov. 9, 1774.
* It is evident that only a small minority of all the citizens partici-
pated in the voting. 517 votes in all were cast in the city and the
Northern Liberties; and of these, 499 were for the radical ticket, with
very few exceptions to any one name. "Tiberius" in Pa. Ledger,
Mch. 16, 1776. Not one-sixth of the people voted, according to a
Philadelphia writer in the N. Y. Gasetteer, Feb. 23,
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? 458 THE COLONIAL MERCHANTS: 1763. 1776
tional members were included in the committee, making the
total number sixty-six. 1
The radical character of the Sixty-Six is indicated by
the fact that, in the election of the two committees that in
turn succeeded to the functions of this committee, few alter-
ations were made in the personnel. The Sixty-Six in-
cluded only seventeen members of the old Forty-Three;
and these were, for the most part, men of the more radical
stamp, like Dickinson. Thomas Mifflin, Joseph Reed and
Charles Thomson. Thomas Wharton and the Reverend
Dr. Smith were dropped permanently from committee rolls.
Of the new men on the Sixty-Six, William Bradford, editor
of the radical Pennsylvania Journal, was the best known.
The others were, for the greater part, small tradesmen,
mechanics, and nobodies who had been active in popular
demonstrations in earlier years. It is not necessary to
accept literally the scornful comment of a contemporary
that "there are many of this Committee who could not
get credit for 2Os. ;" and it would be difficult, if not impos-
sible, to verify his further statement that one of the Sixty-
Six, "an avowed Republican, had lately met with some dis-
appointments . . . ; another had acquired his fortune partly
by an illicit trade last war, and partly by taking advantage
< >f a Resolve of the people here, not to deal with the Rhcde-
Islanders. after they had broke through the Non-Importa-
tion Agreement, by supplying them with Goods, when no
other Merchant would do it; another was an illiterate Mer-
chant; another too insignificant to notice, &c. " a
The counties of the province quickly emulated the ex-
1 The names of the original sixty and of the four members from
Southwark are in Pa. Gas. , Nov. 16, 1774; the names of the two from
Kensington are in ibid. , Nov. 23. 'Lincoln states that the committee
was composed of sixty-seven. Rev'y Movement in Pa. , p. 185.
1 -V. Y. Goeetteer, Feb. 23, 1775; also 4 Am. Arch. , vol. i, p. 1232.
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? RATIFICATION OF THE ASSOCIATION 459
ample of Philadelphia in preparing for the enforcement of
the Association. In Philadelphia County, committees were
first selected for each township; and at a meeting of these
committees on November 26 a general committee of forty
was named. 1 By the middle of February seven other
counties had chosen committees of inspection; 2 and the
committee of correspondence of another county had as-
sumed the function of executing the Association. 8 There
is no record of action in the case of the two sparsely settled
frontier counties of Northumberland and Westmoreland.
Ratification o^ the ^^tiruf1tal A^sr)fiation_was jasily
carried in r,he Pennsylvania Assemblv. That body had
held its first session while the Continental Congress was
still in session; and its first act had been to elect a successor
to Joseph Galloway, who had been speaker for so many
years. The second session began on December 5, and on
the tenth the proceedings of Congress were approved by a
unanimous vote. 4 Three days later. Galloway made his
first appearance in this Assembly. During the remainder
of the session and in the February session he proceeded
quietly and indefatigably to work up sentiment among the
members in opposition to the measures of Congress, and
he gained an increasingly large following. But he was
laboring against heavy odds; and the excitement, produced
by the acceleration of public events, contributed in defeat-
1 This committee contained three members of the old Committee of
Forty-Three. Pa. Gas. , Nov. 16, 30, 1774.
